Status

Defunct

"HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize is that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded, and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew, a beautiful parasite, inside S.H.I.E.L.D. For 70 years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

HYDRA was an authoritarian terrorist-criminal-paramilitary organization bent on world domination. It was founded in ancient times, formerly as a cult centered around the fanatical worship of Hive, a powerful Inhuman that was exiled to the planet Maveth by ancient Inhumans. Ever since his banishment, the cult had been determined to bring him back to Earth to commence a planetary takeover. Over the centuries, the cult evolved, taking many forms, with its most recent incarnation coming into existence shortly after the rise of Nazism in Germany under the leadership of Johann Schmidt as the scientific branch of the Nazi Schutzstaffel. During this time, the cult took on the name HYDRA, which has become the organization's most colloquial label. During World War II, Schmidt separated HYDRA from Nazi Germany to start his own conquest of the world, and it was during or before this time when HYDRA seemingly abandoned the cult's original beliefs. Converting from occultism, to draconian anti-freedom principles, HYDRA became an organization of a hell-bent nature that is dedicated to this newfound political doctrine.

After its defeat at the hands of Captain America in 1945 and the subsequent disappearance of Johann Schmidt, HYDRA was secretly rebuilt inside S.H.I.E.L.D. by Schmidt's top scientist Arnim Zola, who was recruited into the agency during Operation Paperclip. Though Zola's body died in the early 1970s, HYDRA was already well established, and Zola's mind continued to live in a computer. In the following decades, HYDRA orchestrated crises and planted roots worldwide; establishing a clandestine network of operatives engaged in political engineering and scientific research. HYDRA's endgame was the overthrow of world governments to establish a fascist, totalitarian global state; thus pre-emptively eliminating potential threats to their new world order. Members who still followed the original beliefs of HYDRA took part in this as a means of smoothly and immediately transfering control of a groomed Earth to their Inhuman idol.

By the beginning of the 21st century, operatives of HYDRA managed to spread outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., infiltrating many important organizations, including the United States Government and the World Security Council, eventually establishing many secret bases around the world. One of HYDRA's top agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., John Garrett, secretly led the Centipede Project with the goal to recreate the Super Soldier. In 2014, HYDRA's plans for world domination almost succeeded through their agent Alexander Pierce and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project Insight. However, their plan to eliminate 20 million people who posed a threat to HYDRA failed because of the efforts of HYDRA's oldest enemy, Captain America, who publicly exposed their infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. and destroyed their main tool of destruction, three of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers, with Alexander Pierce being killed by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former director Nick Fury in the process. However, HYDRA's leader Wolfgang von Strucker already had new plans for global domination, plans which included twins declared "miracles" and the Scepter.

With its existence publicly known, HYDRA started a war against the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D., taking over many S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. For many months, HYDRA's forces led by John Garrett fought a vicious fight against the small team of loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Phil Coulson. Despite its attempt to infiltrate the U.S. Armed Forces through Ian Quinn and the Deathlok Soldiers, Garrett's group was ultimately defeated through the combined efforts of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former director Nick Fury, Coulson's team, and the U.S. Marines.

However, even that defeat was only a temporary setback for HYDRA. S.H.I.E.L.D. was destroyed and publicly declared a terrorist organization, and many HYDRA agents continued with their work, including the high ranking member Daniel Whitehall who used the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. to start the campaign to recover the mysterious Obelisk. However, the campaign ended disastrously for HYDRA. Whitehall was killed before he could fully exploit the Obelisk, his second in command Sunil Bakshi was captured, and many other heads of HYDRA were killed by HYDRA itself when S.H.I.E.L.D. fooled them into thinking that there was a power struggle within HYDRA's ranks. Two of the remaining heads of HYDRA, Baron von Strucker and Doctor List, continued with their experiments on powered individuals. However, even their experiments came to an end when the Avengers attacked Strucker's fortress in Sokovia, killing List and capturing Baron von Strucker, who was later killed by the robot Ultron. Strucker's demise marked the end of HYDRA's militaristic and scientific faction, allowing for its more ancient roots to take control.

Two of the few remaining HYDRA leaders, Grant Ward and Gideon Malick, joined forces to rebuild HYDRA, destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., and bring Hive back to Earth. Despite Ward's death on Maveth by the hands of Coulson, Malick's plan succeeded because Hive took possession of Ward's body and returned to Earth in his reanimated corpse. Hive slowly began taking control of some Inhumans, and at the same time took over the leadership of Malick's cell, which ended with Malick's death caused by Daisy Johnson. Hive eventually left HYDRA to perish in the military campaign led by Brigadier General Glenn Talbot.

Contents

History

HYDRA Society

Foundation

"Thousands of years ago, an Inhuman was born on this planet that was destined to rule it, so powerful, so fearsome that others were consumed with dread, and so they banished it from the Earth, sent it through the portal to a distant planet. HYDRA was founded with the sole purpose of engineering its return."

Thousands of years ago, a rogue Kree faction created the Inhumans on prehistoric Earth. The ruling Kree hierarchy, deeming the creation of the Inhumans a mistake, conceived the Monolith as a means of wiping them out by transporting them across space to another planet.[1] One day, an Inhuman was born so powerful, that others banished him to the other planet. However, the Inhuman's followers, believing him to be destined to rule the world, formed a secret society with the sole purpose to bring their leader back to Earth.

Over the centuries, the society grew and evolved, taking many different shapes, being called by many different names. Eventually, the society came in possession of the Monolith, and started sending men through the portal, hoping to save or at least serve their leader on the other side. But none of them ever came back. As its symbols changed, the society became known as HYDRA[2], with its final and best known symbol being inspired by the Inhuman's true form.[3]

Centuries of Attempts

"Will he come back?""Our best minds are working to understand this. But as far as we know, in all of history... no one has ever returned."

The story of HYDRA's attempts to bring their leader back to Earth was eventually spread through the world, influencing groups obsessed with death and ritualistic killings, becoming intertwined with the origin of pagan devil myths. Their initial symbol was one for a sacrificial ram.[2]

Members of the HYDRA society decide which one of them would go through the Monolith portal.

In 1839 at Gloucestershire, England, a group of HYDRA members assembled in a castle to have a lottery. He who grabbed the white stone from the bag was to enter the room housing the Monolith. Lord Manzini grabbed the white stone and was sent into the room with a few weapons and some equipment. The portal opened and swallowed Manzini who was never seen again. Apparently, he was but one of many to be sent as a sacrifice. HYDRA's best minds were employed to understand how the Monolith functions, but they never gathered enough data to bring anyone back.

Eventually, HYDRA's scientists managed to construct a machine that could create powerful vibrations. In the late 1800s, they put the Monolith in a hole in the floor and activated the machine, turning the Monolith into its liquid form, creating a stable portal. For some reason, the castle and the machine were abandoned.[4] Five smaller pieces were cut off from the Monolith and given for safekeeping to the most powerful leaders of HYDRA.[5]

HYDRA-Abteilung was named after the mythological creature and used its original phrase: "cut off one head, two more will take its place". It was soon charged with science experiments and deep investigation of the occult. Due to contributions from Arnim Zola, HYDRA developed several extremely advanced weapons.[8]

The Rise of HYDRA

In March 1942, HYDRA stormed a castle in Tønsberg, Norway where the mystical object known as the Tesseract was buried 531 years ago by Odin. Schmidt saw to it that the Tesseract would be used to its full potential by Arnim Zola. Zola's outlandish designs of robotic power armor, massive vehicles and energy weapons and armor could find a functional use thanks to the Tesseract's power, and with the most advanced technology in the world, HYDRA began their conquest that counted Berlin in its targets.[8] By that time, HYDRA had millions of foot soldiers located all around the world-from small town to large cities.[13]

During the first months of 1944, when the German air force launched the last "Blitz", Schmidt sent a group of HYDRA agents to London to steal some blueprints from the Strategic Scientific Reserve. The agents were successful, but they were soon discovered and chased by Captain America who managed to capture all of them.[16]

In May 1944, the HYDRA submarine Leviathan destroyed an Allied merchant freighter in the Mediterranean with HYDRA's thunder lance torpedo, but Captain America, who was traveling on the sunken ship, boarded the submarine and captured it. Cap and Commandos infiltrated the HYDRA U-base where they discovered that the mysterious "Hydra serum" merged the entire base's staff into one octopus-like creature. Cap took the creature to Howard Stark to separate it back into individual men.[12]

In April 1944, HYDRA took possession of an old castle on an island in the Nazi-occupied Danish Straits. Schmidt was interested in that castle because of an ancient Viking runestone that was hidden there. The same month, Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos invaded the castle. Schmidt attempted to destroy them through his "vita batteries" but they survived.[10]

In the meantime, General Reinhardt managed to capture a group of people from China who had found the Obelisk, an object which could turn people into stone. When he showed the artifact to his leader, Schmidt said that the Obelisk may hold the answer to death itself. The Obelisk was soon stored in Reinhardt's fortress in Austria where he used it to experiment on his prisoners.[14]

By the beginning of 1945, Arnim Zola had to be moved to another HYDRA facility. However, his train was attacked by the Howling Commandos and he was captured. He was later moved to London where he was interrogated by Colonel Chester Phillips.[8]

Defeat

The HYDRA soldiers capture Captain America.

"Tomorrow, HYDRA will stand master of the world. Born to victory on the wings of the Valkyrie. Our enemies weapons will be powerless against us. If they shoot down one plane, hundreds more will rain fire upon them! If they cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail HYDRA!"

Despite the loss of Doctor Zola, in March 1945 Schmidt was ready to launch the offensive that would change the face of the planet. The same day on which Schmidt intended to launch the attack, the base was infiltrated by Captain America, who was captured and brought before Schmidt himself. However, before Schmidt could kill his nemesis, the base was attacked by the Howling Commandos and the U.S. Army detachment led by Colonel Chester Phillips. Outnumbered, Schmidt's men were eventually defeated, but not before Schmidt flew away in his Tesseract-powered bomber, the Valkyrie. He intended to nuke all bigger cities in America.

Captain America managed to board the plane and came face to face with Schmidt. When it became clear that Rogers was gaining the upper hand in the fight, Schmidt attempted to use the power of the Tesseract with his bare hands. This only resulted in a beam of light, similar in design to the Bifrost Bridge, which caused Schmidt to disappear, and forcing Rogers to put the bomber plane down in the freezing waters below, freezing himself solid and causing the Tesseract to be lost to the seas.[8]

General Reinhardt vows HYDRA would rise again.

Immediately after Schmidt's disappearance, Werner Reinhardt had the Obelisk moved from his Austrian fortress to a more secure location, a research facility. A month later, he and his lieutenant attempted to empty the facility so they could escape with the artifacts and continue HYDRA's work. At that moment, Reinhardt's unit was the last active HYDRA cell. However, despite their hurry, the base was discovered and attacked by the US Army detachment led by the Strategic Scientific Reserve team composed of Peggy Carter, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. After a short fight, the garrison of the base surrendered. All HYDRA soldiers were arrested and the artifacts, including the Obelisk, were confiscated. However, before he was taken away, Reinhardt promised to Agent Carter that HYDRA would rise again.[14]

Rebirth

After The War

The former Nazi scientists recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D.

"HYDRA died with the Red Skull.""Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States started Operation Paperclip, a program used to recruit the scientists of Nazi Germany for employment by the United States and deny their scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union. As part of the operation, Zola was recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., the newly formed peacekeeping intelligence agency.[17] Agent Carter then interrogated Reinhardt about his experiments with the Obelisk, and the girl he experimented on. Carter then had Reinhardt sent to the Rat to serve his life imprisonment.[18]

Many other former Nazis and HYDRA scientists escaped to South America, hoping to hide from justice. Several of them were employed by the government of Peru to make the new Tesseract-powered weapon. The government wanted to use the weapon against the rebels, but due to the instability of the Tesseract energy, the weapon ended up stuck in the undiscovered Incan temple.[19]

Various HYDRA operatives who escaped justice after World War II infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. shortly after the agency was formed, working secretly in their ranks. Over the next decades, led by Zola, HYDRA worked from the shadows, directing their agents to complete the tasks that were assigned.[17]

HYDRA's scientists turn Bucky into the Winter Soldier.

Shortly after the war, Arnim Zola found Sergeant James Barnes, Captain America's war-time partner who was presumed deceased after falling to an icy death from Zola's train in 1945. Zola and other scientists took Barnes to HYDRA's secret base in the Soviet Union, where they replaced his lost left arm with the new cybernetic limb. They brainwashed him, and since he was already injected with another version of the Super Soldier Serum, they turned him into the new fist of HYDRA, the first subject of the Winter Soldier Program. Though he was wearing the communist red star on his new limb, Barnes never fought for the Soviet ideals, instead becoming HYDRA's best assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Over the next decades, he did much on creating chaos in the world, assassinating those who could pose a threat to HYDRA's goals, and spending time between missions in cryogenic sleep.[17]

Toward the New World Order

Arnim Zola in a computer.

"HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's New World Order will arise."

In 1970, after their father had passed away, Gideon and Nathaniel Malick visited Werner Reinhardt in the Rat. He suggested the two to neglect the old belief on the Inhuman leader and be focusing on science, but they refused, claiming that becoming the Traveler to Maveth was a great honor. Later in the evening, Nathaniel was chosen to be sent through the Monolith to Maveth, and never came back.[20]

With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, Arnim Zola managed to build an entire computer system which his mind was uploaded into as an artificially intelligent user interface. Though Zola's body died in 1972, his mind continued to live in cyberspace, from which he was able to provide easy passage into the agency for more HYDRA sleeper agents.[17]

The HYDRA Commander interrogates the human lab rat.

By the early 1980s, HYDRA managed to infiltrate the Soviet power structures, establishing a secret laboratory in East Berlin. They continued their memory suppression experiments from World War II with the goal to create an army of brainwashed soldiers who would follow every order. However, the laboratory was infiltrated by Hank Pym, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who used his size-changing Ant-Man Suit to ruin the laboratory, destroy the Memory Suppressing Machine, free the prisoner and knock down all the guards.[21]

In 1989, undersecretary Alexander Pierce, an HYDRA sleeper agent, granted Werner Reinhardt a medical parole and made sure there were no records of him after this. Reinhardt was then taken back to his fortress where a group village elders from the Hunan province, which included the woman he experimented on, were brought in. Seeing that she had not aged a day, Reinhardt then performed surgery on her to find out why the Obelisk did not kill her and why she did not age. Although he did not find the reason behind Obelisk's reason for sparing her, Reinhardt was able to use her DNA to regress his body back to a younger age. Reinhardt then took the name "Daniel Whitehall".[18]

HYDRA also oversaw Project Deathlok in 1990, using the turncoat S.H.I.E.L.D. agent John Garrett as their first test subject. He was the first Deathlok. However, only the cybernetic components worked, and the organs were severely affected, leading Garrett to look for a solution to perfect Deathlok and to prevent his slow-coming death.[22]

Facing the Other Worlds

"The Tesseract is where it belongs, out of our reach.""That's not your call.""I didn't make it. I just didn't argue with the God that did.""So you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crime.""Oh, I think he will be."

In the meantime, Gideon Malick, a wealthy industrialist and one of HYDRA's heads, was working on Project Distant Star Return, hoping to bring HYDRA's ancient Inhuman leader back to Earth, as he was a firm believer in HYDRA's original beliefs. Using his connections, he orchestrated the passage of the Monolith to NASA, with the hope that their technicians could send people on the other side.[2] In 2001, a four men team was sent through the portal, never to return.[24] Eventually, Malick became a member of the World Security Council.[2]

The HYDRA weapons and technology captured by the Strategic Scientific Reserve during the war were studied by S.H.I.E.L.D.. In 2011, S.H.I.E.L.D. started a program called "Phase 2", which involved reactivating the HYDRA weapons with the Tesseract for use against super-powered or other-worldly forces. Several cases of HYDRA weapons were stored aboard the Helicarrier. However, the weapons weren't needed, because when the Chitauri led by Loki invaded New York City, the aliens were defeated by the Avengers. During the battle, Malick ordered Nick Fury to nuke New York, which Fury refused, and later criticized Fury for allowing Thor to take the Tesseract and Loki to Asgard.[25]

HYDRA's scientists use the Scepter to power the Chitauri Guns.

In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, HYDRA's leader Baron Wolfgang von Strucker approached Mark Smith, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who worked on the Scepter with the scientist Nicholas Cooper, and offered him to join HYDRA. Dissatisfied with the way S.H.I.E.L.D. was led, Smith accepted the Baron's offer, killed Cooper, and stole the Scepter for HYDRA. Thanks to Smith's betrayal, HYDRA's scientists also got their hands on dozens of Chitauri Guns. Later, HYDRA built a research facility in the Eastern European country of Sokovia. Over the next two years, a team of scientists led by Doctor List and Baron von Strucker managed to use the Scepter to power the Chitauri Guns and HYDRA's own technology. They also conducted experiments on human volunteers, including the twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.[26]

The "Clairvoyant"

Following the Battle of New York, one of HYDRA's agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., John Garrett, going under the alias, the Clairvoyant,[27], recruited and funded the Centipede Project to provide them with super-soldiers and to help keep himself from dying.[22] Garrett also recruited the boxer Carl Creel, by faking his termination off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Index.[14] One of the first was Mike Peterson.[28] In his Clairvoyant persona, Garrett made people like Ian Quinn[29] and Raina[30] believe that he could see everything such as what the President dreams about.[30] Garrett also had another sleeper agent, Grant Ward[31], recruited by Phil Coulson for his team.[28] Ward's mission was to find out about Coulson's revival.[31] Garrett then had Coulson captured[32] and interrogated for three days to find the secrets behind his revival in Tahiti.[30] Garrett then ordered Quinn to shoot Skye.[33] He then made sure that he would be the one to take Quinn in, and to have Coulson lead him to where he was revived. After getting inside, unbeknownst to Coulson and Leo Fitz, he took a few of the drugs and hid them in his vest before the place was destroyed.[29] He then had Mike Peterson, going under the codename "Deathlok", turned into a cybernetic super soldier.[34]

Project Insight

The Insight Helicarriers.

"Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future.""And what then?""Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me.""What then?!""Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few millions at a time."

However, HYDRA's agents used this opportunity to take control of the project. With Arnim Zola's special algorithm that could calculate who could be a threat to HYDRA in the future, the leader of HYDRA's S.H.I.E.L.D. branch, Alexander Pierce, intended to wipe out 20 million people from the face of the Earth.[17]

The End of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The standoff between the HYDRA operatives and loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is not what we thought it was. It's been taken over by HYDRA."

In 2014, the HYDRA infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. was finally exposed when corrupted senior official Alexander Pierce attempted to activate Project Insight early. Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff learned about the infiltration when they entered the secret bunker hidden beneath Camp Lehigh, which was housing Arnim Zola's mind, still alive on dozens of old computers. Though the camp, along with the mainframe housing Zola's mind, was destroyed with a missile, Rogers and Romanoff survived the explosion. A day later, with the help of Sam Wilson they kidnapped Jasper Sitwell, but he was killed by HYDRA's best assassin, the Winter Soldier. The trio was captured by the STRIKE team, but they managed to escape with the help of Maria Hill.[17]

The Winter Soldier's mind is wiped

Alexander Pierce demanded a mission report from the Winter Soldier after the failed assassination attempt on Captain America. However he had become erratic and aggressive due to flashbacks to his past. As Pierce believed that he could become a threat if left like this, he ordered that the Winter Soldier's mind be wiped. The procedure caused the Winter Soldier great physical pain.

A day later, Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, and Hill infiltrated the Triskelion, publicly revealing HYDRA's continued existence. Alexander Pierce and his men then captured all the members of the World Security Council, but they were freed by Romanoff. When HYDRA's agent Brock Rumlow launched the Insight Helicarriers, Romanoff, Rogers, Hill, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury managed to reprogram the Helicarriers to target each other. The battle left the Triskelion in shambles and resulted in the deaths of many HYDRA agents, including Pierce. Rumlow survived the battle, but he was badly burned, and the Winter Soldier abandoned HYDRA.[17]

The Age of Miracles

"There are other facilities doing HYDRA's good work around the world. We'll feed them to Captain America and his colorful friends, keep them off our scent.""What about the volunteers?""The dead will be buried so deep, their own ghosts won't be able to find them."

Despite the failure of Project Insight, HYDRA continued with its operations. At the same time when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, at the research facility in Sokovia, HYDRA's scientists were still conducting experiments on the Scepter, eventually learning that its power was much greater than they originally thought. Many civilian volunteers exposed to the power of the Scepter died in horrifying deaths. However, the twin brother and sister Wanda and Pietro Maximoff survived the experiments, gaining super powers.[35]

New Battles

In order to finish off S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA sent out an activation signal to all sleeper agents to target Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and seize power. During the Battle at the Hub, John Garrett broke his cover and attempted to eliminate Agent Phil Coulson and several members of his team, but he was stopped and later arrested by Agent Victoria Hand. Garrett and the remaining HYDRA moles in the Hub were taken into prison.[27]

Meanwhile, HYDRA's sleeper agents in other S.H.I.E.L.D. bases were also activated. Several facilities fell into HYDRA's hands, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, the Treehouse, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s East African Headquarters. HYDRA's operatives also attempted to take control of the Cube, but they were outnumbered by the loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who managed to repel the attack.[31] A fierce battle was fought for the control of the aircraft carrier Iliad, but HYDRA's moles were ultimately defeated.[36]

Out of the Shadows

The Winter Hunt

The allies Phil Coulson made after the HYDRA Uprising (blue dots) and the operatives that HYDRA maintain (red dots) across the globe.

"A "gifted" that refuses HYDRA is a threat. And threats are taken care of quickly. That's why HYDRA will win. Because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong, HYDRA's already taken the shot."

Despite Colonel Glenn Talbot's massive manhunt for S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA agents and bases, HYDRA continued its plans for world domination by retreating to the shadows. Despite its existence being publicly known, HYDRA was still determined as ever to conquer the world by any means necessary. Their plans could go much easier as they now heavily outnumbered S.H.I.E.L.D. in men, bases, and resources.[14][38]

Whitehall's Campaign

Whitehall gives a lecture to his scientists.

"There were positives. Many of the deceased were enemies of HYDRA.""Some of us are pleased with these small triumphs. Others have loftier aspirations, passion, even. Our founder, he had his Tesseract. As for me, well, it would be an understatement to say that I've waited my whole life to get possession of the Obelisk, to harness its power."

Following that, HYDRA recruited former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons. In reality, however, Simmons was actually undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. under orders from Director Coulson himself. HYDRA's next move was to locate Donnie Gill, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy student who displayed freezing powers. They found him in Casablanca, Morocco, but when the two agents approached him, he froze them both, killing them. A team led by Sunil Bakshi and Jemma Simmons was sent to capture him. When Gill encountered them on HYDRA's cargo ship Maribel del Mar, they managed to activate his mind control trigger. A S.H.I.E.L.D. team suddenly appeared and Bakshi ordered Gill to destroy them. However, Gill was shot by Skye and he fell off the ship. Bakshi then ordered his men to retreat.[39]

In the meantime, HYDRA managed to capture a former S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Agent 33. Using the Faustus method, Whitehall brainwashed the agent to his cause.[39] HYDRA also continued to investigate the Words of Creation that Garret had been carving. Bakshi, disguised as General Talbot, and Agent 33 were sent to Miami, Florida to retrieve a 500 year old painting that had the writing. However, in the ensuing battle, they lost the painting to Director Coulson and Agent Melinda May.[40]

Weaponizing the Obelisk

HYDRA, using skin samples from an Obeliskvictim, created a toxin and used it on a Naval anti-HYDRA unit, killing some of them. HYDRA then had its security chief, Barbara Morse, hunt for a traitor in its midst. At first, Kenneth Turgeon was thought to be the traitor, but the traitor was revealed to be Jemma Simmons. Fortunately for Simmons, Morse revealed herself to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and the two escaped. Whitehall and Bakshi then had the lab dismantled and relocated.

However, Whitehall then met The Doctor, who gave him back the Obelisk, and offered to give him and HYDRA its secrets in exchange for killing Coulson.[41] Whitehall, using deceased HYDRA scientist Vincent Beckers's weapons designs, had Toshiro Mori weaponize the Obelisk, now known as the Diviner, incorporating its power into Splinter Bombs.[42]

Whitehall then had Marcus Scarlotti and his team attack the United Nations posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, killing several delegates and wounding General Talbot. Following the attack, Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Julien Beckers offered his country as a safe haven for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. However, it was revealed that he was Vincent Beckers' grandson and loyal to HYDRA, setting a trap for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Beckers then had Scarlotti kill S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Noelle Walters and her team. However, Beckers, Scarlotti and his team were apprehended by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda May's and General Talbot's teams.[42]

Sunil Bakshi took two operatives with him to meet Grant Ward in Goldbrix Tavern, a Boston establishment run by a HYDRA operative. Bakshi stated that he was surprised to hear from Ward because it was believed that he had died. Ward, knowing that Wolfgang von Strucker was operating overseas, asked if he could meet Bakshi's superior, but he was told that Whitehall was too busy for a meet-and-greet. Ward tempted Bakshi by saying that he could get him a face-to-face with Phil Coulson. However, Ward then killed the bartender and the two other operatives. He knocked Bakshi unconscious and left him tied to a chair with tape on his mouth with the words "To Coulson". Bakshi was later found by a S.H.I.E.L.D. team led by Melinda May.[43]

Search for the City

Meanwhile, Whitehall was upset that his scientists gave him information about the Diviner that he had known since 1945. When The Doctor was brought in at gunpoint, Whitehall explained to him that tensions were high since the capture of Bakshi. The Doctor asked to hear all Whitehall knew about the Diviner so he could edit the story appropriately. The Doctor informed him that there was a temple in a city that the Diviner screened for worthy candidates; the unworthy were petrified. He then requested a team to find that city.

Though originally hesitant, Whitehall allowed The Doctor to take a team to Laura Creek, Australia; there was a satellite relaying station in that location that was easy to infiltrate. During the mission, they ambushed Phil Coulson's team and Antoine Triplett was fatally shot. The Doctor offered to help him live so that he could meet Coulson personally.

The Doctor told Coulson that he was surprised that he was searching for the city since Whitehall did not know about it until he told him. Ultimately, Coulson let him escape in order to finish saving Triplett. When The Doctor returned to Whitehall, he was introduced to Grant Ward, who has rejoined HYDRA.

"We're here today in part because of the three of you. You delivered Raina as you promised. And I had my initial doubts about you, young lady, but you are slowly earning my trust. And your knowledge of the Diviner has led us to this historic moment. For that, I offer my gratitude."

A team of HYDRA agents led by Agent 33 was sent to Vancouver, Canada, where HYDRA finally managed to find Raina. However, when Raina saw and realized who Agent 33 is, she started running away from her. Though she temporarily escaped, Agent 33 located her at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Vancouver safehouse, where she got into conflict with Skye. She was eventually knocked down by Skye and Lance Hunter. A few minutes later, a group of HYDRA agents saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. team taking Raina into a van and escaping. Agent 33 informed Whitehall about Raina's escape and he told her that he would send his best man to take care of the situation.[44]

Later, four of HYDRA's Quinjets followed the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane which was carrying Raina. Grant Ward, who was commanding HYDRA's forces, threatened to shoot the plane unless S.H.I.E.L.D. hands over Raina. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents onboard the plane had to comply, but Ward also forced Skye to come with him, promising that he would spare the lives of her colleagues. When Ward's Quinjet flew away, Whitehall ordered the remaining aircraft to destroy the enemy plane.[44] The Quinjets launched missiles at the plane, which was hidden in the cloud, seemingly destroying it.[45]

The mutiny in the theater.

Meanwhile, thanks to the attack on the Laura Creek Station, HYDRA managed to discover the location of the ancient Kree City which was built thousands of years earlier. The city was hidden under the city of San Juan in Puerto Rico. Whitehall and Agent 33 immediately traveled to San Juan, where HYDRA quietly occupied the Ponce de León Theater, with their agents drilling a tunnel to the Kree City. Once Ward, Raina, Skye, and The Doctor came there, Whitehall forced Skye to touch the Obelisk. She survived the touch, and killed one HYDRA agent with it. Ward then aimed his pistol at Whitehall's men, while The Doctor killed one agent with his scalpel. But the mutiny was short lived, and they were all taken into custody.[45]

When the tunnel was finished, a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents infiltrated the theater. Raina went into the Kree City, while Whitehall and his men attempted to deal with the intruders. However, as The Doctor encountered Whitehall alone in the corridor and prepared to kill him, Whitehall was shot in the back by Phil Coulson. Agent 33 then arrived, shooting at them, and discovered Whitehall's dead body. Without Whitehall she did not know what to do, so she returned to the wounded Ward, who convinced her to help him to leave the scene.[45]

Under Attack

Cutting Off the Heads

"You underestimate S.H.I.E.L.D.... constantly, it would seem. Von Strucker would like this mistake to stop happening, so I'm going to make it simple... S.H.I.E.L.D. will take this victory as a chance to move against us.""Come above ground.""Whomever can remove S.H.I.E.L.D. from the landscape permanently will win Whitehall's position."

With Whitehall dead, his seat in the HYDRA Council remained empty, and the remaining heads of HYDRA discussed who could take Whitehall's place. The gathered leaders were Dr. List, the Sheikh, the Baroness, the Banker and Octavian Bloom. Dr. List, acting on the order of Baron von Strucker, proposed Sunil Bakshi. Other leaders replied that he was probably captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore dead, if he did his duty. Dr. List told them to stop underestimating S.H.I.E.L.D., and that the person that destroys S.H.I.E.L.D. will win Whitehall's position, while he personally would take a look at Whitehall's research of arcane artifacts.[46]

HYDRA leaders are killed by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Meanwhile, Sunil Bakshi managed to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. and went to Octavian Bloom's house. Convinced that other leaders of HYDRA wanted to eliminate them, he and Bloom contacted Doctor List, who assured them that he and Baron von Strucker were not involved in any attacks on them. Afraid that they could be the next target, Bakshi convinced Bloom to simply kill the other three leaders. Using the Splinter Bomb and other tools that weaponized the effect of the Obelisk, Bloom's men killed the Banker, the Sheikh, and the Baroness. However, Bloom's house was infiltrated by Bakshi's "rescuer", actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Lance Hunter, and his colleague Bobbi Morse. The two intruders killed Bloom and recaptured Bakshi, revealing that his escape was a ruse concocted by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director Phil Coulson to lead the organization to HYDRA's leadership.[46] Some time later, Bakshi was kidnapped from General Glenn Talbot's base by Agent 33 and Grant Ward who decided to brainwash him with the Faustus method.[47]

The New Threat

A new threat to HYDRA's plans soon arose. The Avengers were officially reassembled, and they started tracking down HYDRA's operations. When Dr. Jensen in her secret lab in Port Sudan, Sudan managed to reverse engineer the obtained Chitauri tech, she informed her colleagues in Khartoum to come help her. The call was intercepted by Black Widow, and the Avengers quickly flew in their Quinjet to the location of Jensen's lab. Though HYDRA managed to shoot down the Quinjet, the Avengers fiercely attacked HYDRA's soldiers. Despite their tanks, guns, and numerical superiority, HYDRA soldiers decided to retreat. However, Dr. Jensen took the power gauntlets from one fallen soldier and attacked the Avengers with heavy energy blasts. Unfortunately for her, Hawkeye sneaked up behind her and destroyed her weapon with one of his explosive arrows.[48]

Meanwhile, Doctor List became interested in powered people. List's soldiers started hunting them and managed to capture several of them, and List used the opportunity to experiment on them.[49] One of his victims was Ethan Johnston, but he couldn't find the Quantum Entanglements he was searching for, the traces of a man who had the ability to teleport from one place to another. One day, List was called by Sunil Bakshi, and they had a meeting on List's plane. With Bakshi was Mike Peterson, and Bakshi offered him to List, saying that he could become a great asset to HYDRA. List agreed to take Bakshi to Baron von Strucker's base in Eastern Europe.[50]

During the journey, the plane made a stop in San Francisco, and Bakshi, Peterson, and numerous HYDRA soldiers entered one abandoned building. Once they were inside, they faced an unknown man, the Doctor who previously worked with Daniel Whitehall, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Peterson managed to knock down the unknown intruder, but Bakshi then ordered his men to take Peterson down. In the end, HYDRA won the battle, taking the prisoner with them.[50]

The prisoners were taken to List's base in the Arctic, where the doctor continued his experiments. He also informed Baron von Strucker about the development of the situation, who was very pleased with the news. Suddenly, a plane approached the base. Realizing the intruders were S.H.I.E.L.D., List ordered his men to shoot them out of the sky. The Bus was destroyed, but the intruders managed to survive the crash and infiltrated the base. In the ensuing battle, all HYDRA agents in the base, and Bakshi, were killed, but List managed to escape and eventually rejoined Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Sokovia.[51]

Unfortunately for HYDRA, S.H.I.E.L.D. learned about the exact location of their Sokovian base from their facility in the Arctic and passed that information to Maria Hill, who gave it to the Avengers.[51] The Sokovian base was attacked, and though HYDRA soldiers managed to slow down the Avengers, their tanks, armors and advanced weaponry were no match for the strength of the attackers. The base was ultimately captured, Dr. List was killed by Iron Man, and Baron von Strucker was captured by Captain America. The twins Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, though they briefly fought the Avengers, eventually abandoned the site of the battle.[52]

The main laboratory inside the base was discovered by Iron Man who took the Scepter and had it transported to the Avengers Tower. Baron von Strucker and the remaining HYDRA soldiers were handed over to NATO. Baron von Strucker was later killed in his prison cell by the insane robot Ultron.[52]

HYDRA Strikes Back

Raising the Inhuman Army

"Now we're building an army for It to command when It returns, and you and I will rule beside It."

Despite the fall of most of HYDRA's cells and the abrupt end of many of HYDRA's operations, Gideon Malick remained in his public position undetected, still incredibly powerful. Eventually he became an advisor to President Matthew Ellis and used his connections to continue with Project Distant Star Return. He even expanded the project, manipulating the US Government to authorize the creation of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, an agency that would replace S.H.I.E.L.D. and collect and study the newly transformed Inhumans. Overseeing the ATCU's science division, Malick aimed to create an Inhuman Army for HYDRA's first leader to command when he returns from his exile on Maveth. Malick's men in the ATCU gave the fish oil pills contaminated by the impure Terrigen Crystals to many people so they could create as many Inhumans as they could.[2]

Dealings with Darren Cross

A team led by Mitchell Carson, one of HYDRA's top sleeper agents in the original S.H.I.E.L.D., made a deal with the corrupt businessman Darren Cross, the leader of Cross Technologies. Cross offered to sell HYDRA Hank Pym's Pym particle technology, the same technology that Carson failed to get his hands on in 1989 when Pym abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. With the Yellowjacket Suit, Cross intended to reassert HYDRA's dominance, but his efforts were squashed by Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. However, during the chaos, Carson did escape with a vial of Cross' modified Pym Particles.[53]

Project Ultimo

With many destroyed Ultron Sentries from the Battle of Sokovia, HYDRA collected many of the parts and took them to an undisclosed location in Eastern Europe, where they used the parts to create a giant robot called Ultimo. HYDRA then used the Ultimo to attack a small village. The Avengers reacted to the attack and destroyed Ultimo.[54]

New Members

Devoid of leadership, HYDRA operatives were reluctant when Grant Ward decided that he would take the reins of leadership. Ward was forced to physically engage Kebo to show his control.[55]

For months, the bank accounts and financial transactions of HYDRA known by S.H.I.E.L.D. had no activity. Lance Hunter did research to find any activity but found nothing.[56]

Meanwhile, Ward recruited new members for his own HYDRA cell, continuing his private war against Phil Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. Ward made it known that he was to be addressed as Director, mirroring Coulson's position with S.H.I.E.L.D. He also decided to clean HYDRA from weak and corrupt members who cared only about the money. He kidnapped and eventually convinced Werner von Strucker, the son of the late Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, to join HYDRA so they could rebuild the organization and make it stronger than ever.[4] To ensure that HYDRA's ranks were filled only with the strongest and the toughest men and women, Ward and Kebo began organizing fights for the new volunteers, accepting as new members only the winners.[57]

One of the winners in the fight club was Richy who killed Spud during his fight.[57] Richy worked under Kebo's orders and brought to HYDRA a large weapons cache and even agreed to join a mission with Kebo. When he was brought to Ward's base, he opened fire on Ward and his men, revealing himself as Lance Hunter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on a revenge mission to kill Ward. A firefight started between Ward's men and Hunter and another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Melinda May soon appeared on the scene. Ward ordered Kebo to call Werner von Strucker and order him to get closer to May's ex-husband Andrew Garner so he could kill him and threaten May. Despite the video, Hunter continued advancing on Ward and Kebo. The pair managed to escape by jumping through the window and running onto a truck, but not before Hunter managed to fire a shot which wounded Ward in the shoulder. When Ward did not cancel his order, von Strucker attempted to continue with his mission,[58] but failed due to unexpected circumstances.[59]

Tensions between the Heads

"What can I do for you?""That's not the correct question. The correct question is, what I can offer you? The answer, in case you're wondering, is redemption.""Oh, no, thanks. I don't need redeeming.""Oh, I think you do. You've made some mistakes in your gameplay."

While Ward, Kebo, and their men moved to another base, Werner von Strucker went to Gideon Malick, the head of another HYDRA cell and the only modern HYDRA leader that all other heads feared. Von Strucker informed Malick about Ward's actions and he was not pleased with the news. To make the situation clear, Malick called Ward and offered him redemption for his mistakes, such as making von Strucker a pawn on the chessboard before schedule, but Ward arrogantly replied that he did not need redemption. However, knowing that von Strucker was now a damaged good that couldn't be left to run around knowing HYDRA's secrets, Malick gave his location to Ward to prevent internal fights within HYDRA's ranks and ensure Ward's cooperation in HYDRA's resurgence.

Sent by Ward, Kebo and two of his men caught up with von Strucker in Lisbon and captured him. However, the torture session was interrupted by the arrival of two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Melinda May and Bobbi Morse, who were also looking for von Strucker. In the ensuing fight, Kebo was electrocuted to death in a swimming pool and his men were beaten by the intruders. Before he went into a coma, von Strucker told May that he saw Andrew Garner transforming into "that thing".[59]
Though Grant Ward's cell lost three men, the mission was a partial success. Shortly after, Ward and Malick organized a meeting to discuss joint operations against S.H.I.E.L.D. Ward revealed to Malick that he was planning the assassination of Phil Coulson, both for revenge and the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D.[60]

The Secret Origins of HYDRA

Ward kills Malick's men

"You just might be HYDRA's second head that's grown right next to me.""I should kill you.""Then you'd miss that history lesson we've been talking about."

As Grant Ward and Gideon Malick had a dinner, Malick revealed to him that he knew he was looking for the von Strucker family vault, which by the rumors contained HYDRA's greatest power. Ward suggested they would find and use it together, but Malick refused and ordered his men to kill Ward. However, Ward managed to defeat all of them and questioned the survivors about the location of the vault. They told him that the vault was in Zepkow, Germany. Ward came to the vault a few minutes after Malick.

Ward threatened to kill Malick, but instead he listened as Malick explained the whole history of HYDRA, including its true origin. Malick offered Ward a leadership next him when they finally accomplish what HYDRA stared, to bring the Inhuman back to Earth and create for him an Inhuman army so he could rule the world as he was meant to. Ward agreed and Malick asked him to find out who S.H.I.E.L.D. manged to bring back from Maveth. After that, Ward visited Andrew Garner in the Containment Module and tried to transform him into Lash.[2]

Bringing the Inhuman back

"I'm no soldier. You're the finest we ever made. You're the only one that can do this. And if you cross over to that other side, you will finally see that your faith in HYDRA was never misplaced. It's real. You will look it in the eye.""And then?""And then we'll be able to do whatever the hell we want."

Gideon Malick suspected that Rosalind Price might know that he was HYDRA, so he sent Grant Ward to kill her. He sniped her when she was in her apartment and then he called Phil Coulson, who was also in there, and told him that was a revenge on the death of Kara Palamas. He ordered his men to kill Coulson, but he escaped. Ward returned to the HYDRA Castle, where Malick greeted him, but also warned him that his actions could jeopardize the return of Hive. Yet, Ward promised him that the plan would succeed, because he knew Coulson better than himself.

In an abounded Project Distant Star Return, Giyera ambushed Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and Luther Banks, who searched for the Monolith there. Giyera killed Banks and kidnapped Fitz and Simmons. They were brought to the castle and Malick asked them to help them bringing the Inhuman back from Maveth, but after the two refused, the were separated and Giyera tortured Simmons to get from her the information they needed. Fitz could not hear the screams of Simmons, so he volunteered to assist the HYDRA delegation to Maveth.

As Ward prepared for Coulson, who had informed him that he come for him to kill him, Malick convinced him to lead the delegation in Maveth and accomplish the goal of HYDRA. Ward agreed and he, Fitz and the team jumped through the portal to Maveth. However, a Quinjet flew above the castle, so HYDRA tried to shoot them out of the sky. As Malick ordered to close the portal, he saw Coulson jumping from the Quinjet directly to the portal. The team on Maveth dealt with a sandstorm.[5]

After a few hours, Fitz tired to take Ward's gun, but Ward prevented him from to do it and threatened that if he would not come back, Simmons would die. Then, one of the soldiers called Ward and they saw a structure shaped as the HYDRA symbol. Later, Fitz found a hole in the ground and escaped through it. Ward ran after him and found him along with what was supposedly Will Daniels, who had been on the planet for years. Fitz promised that "Daniels" would show them the way to the portal and begged Ward not to kill him. Ward agreed and Fitz helped "Daniels" walk.

On Earth, HYDRA brought dozen Inhumans inside Suspension Gel, so they would serve the leader as his army. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D.infiltrated the castle, freed Simmons and barricaded themselves inside the portal chamber. Malick also discovered that Lash had escaped from the Containment Module and killed all the Inhumans. He ordered his soldiers to break in the chamber. They tried to do so, but the doors were reinforced. At the same time, "Daniels" led the team to the location of the next portal.

He told Ward that the leader had used to live in the structure they saw. However, another sandstorm occurred and they had to hide. "Daniels" killed some of the soldiers and he and Fitz escaped. After the sandstorm was over, Ward saw the soldiers' bodies, when suddenly the rest of his men were killed by Phil Coulson. Coulson pointed his gun at Ward and forced him to lead the way to the portal. Fitz and "Daniels" were close to the portal's location, when Fitz discovered that "Daniels" was actually the dark Inhuman, Hive, possessing Daniels' corpse. The two then fought each other.

Coulson saw Hive ready to kill Fitz and he shot him. Ward used the distraction and attacked Coulson. The portal was reopened and Hive tried to reach for it. When a standard firearm proved completely useless on Hive, Fitz shot the dark Inhuman with a flare gun, burning Daniels' body to a crisp. Coulson managed to defeat Ward and stood over him and thought about all the lives he had taken, including Victoria Hand, Eric Koenig and the Assassination of Rosalind Price for which Coulson was seeking revenge for. Coulson, using his robotic hand, he crushed Ward's chest, causing his death.

However, Hive survived the destruction of Daniels' body and made use of Ward's body as his new host. The dark Inhuman followed Coulson and Fitz, escaping back to Earth through the portal moments before the HYDRA Castle was destroyed by Zephyr One. When Gideon Malick was being driven to the airport, he encountered Hive on the road, still holding Phil Coulson's Prosthetic Hand. Malick looked on in amazement, knowing that he had finally accomplished the ultimate goal of HYDRA.[61]

For three months, Hive recovered in Gideon Malick's base, struggling to speak and stand. However, Hive eventually spoke and ask from Malick food. At the same time, HYDRA received reports on a new Inhuman in Bogotá, so Giyera sent a team to recover him. Later, Malick received a phone call. At first he thought it was Werner von Strucker, but it was actually Phil Coulson, who trucked everywhere the line was connected. Malick insured him that although he would have to close some of his offices, he could not be defeated so easily. An HYDRA QuadCopter then flew over a station of the National Police of Colombia and captured Lucio in its cargo bay and returned to Malick's base. There, Hive demonstrated his powers by turning Grant Ward's skin to sand and sending it towards Malick and Giyera.[62]

Lucio was brought to Hive's room, where the latter infected the former with his parasites. He later asked Giyera to find for him five alive humans. He brought then into his room. Using his power, Hive healed Ward's body by consuming the five humans' skins, leaving only their scorched skeletons.[63]

Building an Army

Malick in the Symposium on Alien Contagion

"Why go to all this trouble?""I'm building an army.""And another army will stand to fight them. You won't be able to convert them all.""I won't have to."

Gideon Malick learned that Glenn Talbot had been appointed as the new head of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit; he kidnapped Talbot' son and extorted him to corporate with him. As a symposium about the Inhumans was convened, Malick ordered Talbot to betray Phil Coulson during it. After Talbot did it, Malick entered the room and to gain the delegates' trust by accusing Coulson for being the Director of HYDRA. He took Coulson and Talbot to the basement and reveled to Coulson that he was building an army of Inhumans. He ordered his men to kill him, but Carl Creel freed them. Together they freed Talbot's son from the Suspension Gel. Malick exploited his connection with a symposium delegate, Anton Petrov, and flew with him to Russia.[63]

Malick tries to control the Russian leadership

Malick and Anton Petrov eventually arrived at a decommissioned facility in Siberia where Petrov introduced Malick to several other Russian leaders and they discussed the plans to build a sanctuary state for Inhumans. Petrov revealed to Malick that Russian Prime Minister Dimitri Olshenko was against the idea as his opposition was in support. When Malick learned that the captured General Androvich, an Inhuman, was also in support of the sanctuary, Malick suggested that they free Androvich and allow him to assassinate Olshenko, as way to get control of Inhumans for Hive. With this in place, Malick left Russia, but shortly after he departed, S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened, saving Prime Minister Olshenko and killing General Androvich.[64]

Through Giyera, HYDRA came in contact with Felix Blake, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who founded a hate group called the Watchdogs to fight the recently transformed Inhumans. Not knowing that he was becoming HYDRA's pawn, Blake and his men raided an ATCU facility, stealing a nuclear warhead. Blake later gave the warhead to Giyera, expecting improved weapons in exchange to deal with the Inhuman Outbreak and kill them, although Giyera did not inform him of his own Inhuman powers.[65]

Transia

Malick and Hive having a dinner

"Look, I've dedicated my life, surrendered my life to a higher power.""That's the word power. Power! And that's what you seek. Not wealth or control or clout, no. True power. How does that sound?""Intriguing."

Hive and Malick met with Transia's managers at the Transia headquarters to buy the company. At first they refused, but with Hinton's power, they saw their death. They eventually agreed to hand it over to Malick and Hive killed all of them, leaving only the CEO. By Hive's command, Malick wore the Transia Corporation Exoskeleton which increased his strength. With Hive's encouraging, Malick killed the CEO with his bared hands. As S.H.I.E.L.D.attacked the building, Malick dueled with Daisy Johnson who came to save Hinton. Malick, using the Exoskeleton, killed him and almost Johnson, but she destroyed the suit with her power.

Once safe in Malick's Headquarters, Hive ordered Giyera to find another piece of Transia technology. Malick called Giyera sacred, remanding him he was working with him. Giyera answered that he was meant to be with Hive now.[66]

Change of Loyalties

Hive reveals his true form to HYDRA

"It's been a long time, but today, we're not here for a ceremony, but a celebration. We've devoted our lives to bringing the HYDRA God back from exile, and I know some in this room have doubted that he'd ever return. You doubted me. Well...""They were wrong. My exile's over."

Hive invited the inner circle members of HYDRA to the Malick Mansion, without informing Gideon Malick. He also ordered Giyera and team of HYDRA agents to raid the GT Agrochemical Facility, to destroy the research take out equipment and papers. As the inner circle members arrived, Hive reveled his actual appearance to the HYDRA members. Later, Hive, with Malick's brother's memories, reminded him of his betrayal on his brother years ago. He accused Malick for not knowing what a true sacrifice was, so he killed his daughter in front of his eyes.

As Gideon Malick's men tried to kill every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on Zephyr One, the Secret Warriors attacked the base to rescue their friends. With Malick as a captive and Lucio's death, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to retake the plane and escaped the base. Nevertheless, Hive had infected Daisy Johnson during the battle; he gave Johnson orders that included assassinating Malick to prevent him from giving up secrets. However, despite Johnson's success, her opportunity to kill Malick came too late; disillusioned with Hive and HYDRA, Malick had given up the locations of HYDRA bases that he knew to Phil Coulson.[67]

End of HYDRA

With the information Gideon Malick had given to Phil Coulson before his death,[67] the latter passed them to General Glenn Talbot. Using the full power of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit and the United States Armed Forces, Talbot led a full-scale assault on all known HYDRA bases, capturing the operatives working at these bases. Hive's cell escaped the decimation of HYDRA, but the dark Inhuman was too focused on creating a better world for Inhumans and raising an Inhuman army to care about reforming HYDRA. Without a head that cared about reforming it, the majority of HYDRA was in shambles; its original purpose having turned out to be a dangerous mistake.[68]

Loss of the Heads

The last heads of HYDRA talk with Hive.

"Your ancestors started HYDRA. You fought to bring me back, yet are the only faithful to evade being captured after Gideon Malick's spineless betrayal. Well the time has come for your reward.""Thank you, but what does that have to do with your story?""Isn't it obvious? We've been working hard to re-create the Kree experiment. And you're next."

Before and during World War II, soldiers of HYDRA could rely on standard weapons used by the armed forces of Nazi Germany but also on several extremely advanced weapons developed by HYDRA's scientists.

Rifles

HYDRA Battle Rifle: An assault rifle developed by Zola. It was a heavily modified variant of the StG-44, and fired conventional ammunition as opposed to energy bolts. It was used by the HYDRA troops and by the Howling Commandos.

Modern Weapons

By the beginning of the 21st century, thanks to its infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA could rely on all weapons available to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. All sorts of rifles, machine guns, handguns, and heavy weapons could be found in HYDRA's arsenal.[17] After the Battle of New York, HYDRA's scientists got their hands on numerous Chitauri weapons, greatly upgrading and expanding HYDRA's already powerful arsenal.

Pistols and Handguns

Heckler & Koch HK45: Primary sidearm of Grant Ward while he led his own faction of HYDRA.

Smith & Wesson M&P: Main sidearm of HYDRA moles within SH.I.E.L.D. and used by Grant Ward while working for Daniel Whitehall.

Tokyo Marui Strike Warrior: Primary sidearm of HYDRA moles within the ATCU, such as Giyera.

Glock 17: Used by HYDRA assassins sent to kill Nick Fury, by Marcus Scarlotti's mercenaries, by HYDRA soldiers on Maveth, and by Gideon Malick's agents at the Symposium on the Alien Contagion. Malick's men had their guns personalized so that only a person with the correct fingerprint could use them.

Glock 19: Main sidearm of STRIKE commandos and also used by Brock Rumlow.

Arsenal Strike One: Used by terrorists working under Grant Ward's faction.

Beretta 92FS: Used by terrorists working under Grant Ward's faction.

SIG-Sauer P226: Used by the Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow, and HYDRA moles in S.H.I.E.L.D.

Chitauri Cannons: Used at the HYDRA Research Base; several varieties, such as the man-operated anti-aircraft batteries or the automated bunker-mounted sentry guns. Reverse-engineered from captured Chitauri technology after the Battle of New York.

HYDRA Tank: A series of heavily modified Russian vehicles; including T-80 main battle tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles. They were upgraded with Chitauri technology, and used against the Avengers.

Project Insight Helicarriers: Three next-generation, heavily-armed helicarriers intended to be used to kill political opponents and dissidents, and crush resistance movements who would oppose HYDRA's plans.

Uniforms

World War II Era Uniforms

A HYDRA soldier in a black SS uniform armed with the MP 40 submachine gun.

HYDRA SS Uniform: As the SS division, HYDRA mostly used the standard grey and black uniforms of the Schutzstaffel. They also used the standard German Stahlhelm helmets.[73] Their ranks insignia was identical to that of the SS. However, to distinguish themselves from other SS units, they wore HYDRA badges on their caps and collars, instead of the SS rune patches and Totenkopf badges.[8] They also had HYDRA patches on the upper parts of their sleeves and cuff titles with Gothic style script on the lower parts. However, their uniforms lacked the Reichsadler patch on the left sleeve.[73][14] Some members of HYDRA also used armbands similar to those of the Nazi party. However, their armbands had the HYDRA logo instead of the swastika.[10] Some officers continued to use their black SS uniforms until the end of the war.[14]

HYDRA Uniform: After 1943, soldiers of HYDRA adopted new, futuristic, dark-green uniforms. The same uniform, but in black color, was used by HYDRA's special troops and the crew of the Valkyrie.[8]

Modern Uniforms

By the 2010s, HYDRA mostly used standard combat camouflage uniforms that were used by almost every army in the world.[39] If the situation required, HYDRA's agents would masquerade themselves as civilians or policemen to easily approach and eliminate their targets.[17]

Methods/Techniques

"In S.H.I.E.L.D., they train you to control yourself. HYDRA wants to control everyone else."

This symbol appeared in the archive accessed by the preserved mind of Dr. Arnim Zola. The center features the traditional HYDRA skull & tentacles, while the next circle of text written in German and in Blackletter font reads "HYDRA Department by appointment of the Führer". The text in the peripheral circle reads, from the top left and going clockwise: "Power. Truth. Determination. Strength."

Trivia

In the comics, HYDRA began as the Brotherhood of the Spear, the Eastern counterpart of the Brotherhood of the Shield (S.H.I.E.L.D.), and was reorganized by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the Japanese-occupied territory in the middle of World War II.

In the comics, the HYDRA Oath is "Hail, Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master—as the world shall soon serve us! Hail Hydra!" In Captain America: The First Avenger, the oath was shortened and changed to "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place! Hail Hydra!"

Behind the Scenes

For Captain America: The First Avenger, artist Ryan Meinerding and Charlie Wen wanted to play tribute to HYDRA's role in the comics by incorporating the signature 'H' from the comics into the uniforms in the film and were able to by using the straps and harness used to support the Tesseract technology.[75]

According to artist Ryan Meinerding, it took a long time to design the HYDRA logo. Meinerding stated "I tried adding the suction cups to the tentacles and having the negative shapes they created to look like gears. Since HYDRA is all about advance weaponry and machinery, the gear theme seemed to fit."[76]

Bob appears in the 20th Century Fox production Deadpool as a henchman of Ajax and an acquaintance of Deadpool. Since Bob is an agent of HYDRA in the comics, Marvel Studios own the cinematic rights to him. However, Fox were able to include him in the film by making no reference to his connection to HYDRA.[77]

↑The insignia of the German Afrika Korps on the boxes carried by HYDRA soldiers in Shadows implies the corpse was found somewhere in North Africa before the surrender of the Army Group Africa on 13 May 1943.